Lilliam Rivera
“Everyone loves this idea that to make it in America all you need is to work hard to be successful. The truth is that only a certain privileged few are allowed to flourish. That people of color still thrive in spite of all the obstacles thrust on us is a miracle and says so much about our strength.”
“Haunting and richly detailed, this is a beautiful re-imagining that will hurt and heal, sometimes on the same page”
“Seamlessly blends Caribbean and Greek myth into a contemporary teen novel, exploring realistic aspects of identity, stereotypes, trauma, and romance.”
“Taking cues from Judge Dredd, Mad Max, and The Hunger Games, Rivera . . . has created a uniquely brutal hellscape. . . . Readers are left with a more ambiguous—and ambitious—tale that will have them questioning what kinds of people they’d be if freed from society’s mores.”
“Introducing Lilliam Rivera, one of the most unique and exciting new voices in YA. The Education of Margot Sanchez is funny, poignant, compelling and authentic.”
Lilliam Rivera is an award-winning writer and author of young adult and middle grade novels. Her most recent book is Barely Floating (Kokila, 2023). Other books include the young adult science fiction novel We Light Up the Sky (Bloomsbury, 2021) and the graphic novel Unearthed: A Jessica Cruz Story (DC Comics, 2021), both named “Best Books of 2021” by Kirkus Reviews and School Library Journal. Her previous YA novels include Never Look Back (Bloomsbury YA, 2020), which BookPage called “a revelation” in a starred review; the middle grade novel Goldie Vance: The Hotel Whodunit (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2020), which Kirkus praised as a “winner of a series opener”; Dealing in Dreams (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2019), which was featured in Teen Vogue, PBS Books, Los Angeles Times, and Bustle, among other outlets, and has received starred reviews from School Library Journal and Booklist; and The Education of Margot Sanchez (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2017), which was nominated for a 2017 Best Fiction for Young Adults by the Young Adult Library Services Association and was featured on NPR, New York Times Book Review, New York magazine, MTV.com, and Teen Vogue, among others. Rivera’s work has appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Elle, Tin House, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, to name a few. Her first adult novel, Tiny Threads, will be published by Del Ray Books in August, 2024.
She is a 2016 Pushcart Prize winner and a 2015 Clarion alumni with a Leonard Pung Memorial Scholarship. Rivera has also been awarded fellowships from PEN Center USA, A Room Of Her Own Foundation, and received a grant from the Elizabeth George Foundation and the Speculative Literature Foundation. Her short story "Death Defiant Bomba" received honorable mention in Bellevue Literary Review's 2014 Goldenberg Prize for Fiction, selected by author Nathan Englander. She recently received honorable mention in the 2018 James Tiptree, Jr. Literary Award.
Rivera was interviewed by Lightspeed in 2019 and was asked about a comment she made in an NPR interview about The Education of Margot Sanchez in which she explained her belief in “firsts’ in YA novels: “In young adult fiction, I believe a lot of the characters must go through a discovery of “firsts.” The first kiss. The first sense of shame. I love those moments in young adult literature when the protagonist discovers how their parents or adults are completely flawed and full of unrealized desires or dreams.”
Born in the Bronx and currently living in Los Angeles, Rivera has been a featured speaker in countless schools and book festivals throughout the United States and teaches creative writing workshops.
Open and right-click to download
(c) JJ Geiger
Book Jacket
Book Jacket
Book Jacket
Book Jacket
Book Jacket
Book Jacket
